A flaky golden pastry, filled with brown sugar that turns into molten caramel during baking... it's easy to understand why coyotas are loved with a passion in the Mexican state of Sonora, and why Pati Jinich was determined to learn to make them.
But these pastries are more than just a sweet indulgence - they are a source of great pride in a region known for wheat production, as Jinich discovers when she visits the city of Hermosillo, the state capital, during her travels for Pati's Mexican Table.
“People are so proud of coyotas and consume so many, especially around the city of Hermosillo, that there are bakeries, and small factories, that only make coyotas!! They sell them not only in Hermosillo but [across] Sonora, the entire country, and even internationally.
They have become so famous in Mexico that you can also find them in some specialty stores outside of Sonora,” Jinich explains when SBS Food touches base with the upbeat TV host and cookbook author to talk more about these sugar-filled pastries.
Coyotas, like the various tortillas and tacos that Jinich also eats during her travels across Sonora in Pati’s Mexican Table, reflect one of the northeastern state’s key crops.
“Sonora [is] a vast, open territory in Northern Mexico defined by rugged mountain ranges, unforgiving deserts, and the peaceful Sea of Cortez. But down in the valley … conditions are just right to grow and harvest miles and miles of the region's most identifiable crop - Sonoran wheat. The flour produced from these wheat fields has completely shaped the food of Northern Mexico,” Jinich explains in the show.
“On every Sonoran table, it's easy to find a common theme. So, we have the bread, we have the tortilla, we have the tamale, and all of these have the foundation of farina. … people here are very proud about their Sonoran wheat,” Jinich explains during a stop in Hermosillo, the Sonoran capital, where she visits a local flour mill that’s been run by the same family for three generations, and then heads to a nearby bakery that specialises in another source of Sonoran pride, the coyotas. Here, she meets baker Jorge, who makes about 2000 of the light, flaky pastries every day. While there are variations on both dough and filling, the piloncillo coyota, two discs of dough filled with an unrefined brown sugar called piloncillo (sold in cones and blocks, and also known as panela), is the most common. And it’s this version that Jinich enjoys during her bakery visit. Unsurprisingly, the verdict is “Mmm! Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!”
“It's such a delight, 'cause it's so, so, so flaky and airy. It's a little bit chewy. Mmm! A little bit rustic-tasting … It's so delicious,” she says as she enjoys one of Jorge’s pastries fresh from the oven.
The sugar inside melts during cooking, creating a sugary caramel filling that sticks to the pastry layers.
“If you can’t find piloncillo which is like a Mexican kind of molasses [sugar], you can replace it with dark brown sugar, caramel or dulce de leche,” Jinich tells us when we chat.
Jinich – who says she’s delighted to be back on Australian screens again – meets everyone from fishermen to farmers during her travels around Sonora. The key role of flour becomes clear from the first episode, where she visits Tortilleria Los Arcos, a popular family bakery. “Growing up in Mexico City, I only knew one kind of tortilla... I come to Sonora, there are like dozens of different kinds of flour tortillas that are all so different, all so delicious,” she says.
In episode two, during a visit to Tortillas y Burros Doña Guille in Hermosillo, she learns how to make giant tortillas known as sobaqueras. Beef is big in Sonora, so there are some delicious meat dishes to try throughout the series, and because Sonora is, as Jinich puts it, “a land-and-sea state”, with a long coastline, there’s great seafood to discover too.
Each episode also includes a segment in Jinich’s home kitchen, where she cooks up dishes inspired by her travels. Among them are “really chubby, chubby flour tortillas” stuffed with chile rellenos con picadilla. (“They're so proud about their wheat, their meat. It is a taco that really packs all of my experiences from the … adventure into one”); Sonoran-style prawn and scallop tostadas; chicken with pecan and ancho chile sauce; corn, cheese and chile verde tamales; and, of course, those coyotas.
Jinich says it took some time to develop a recipe she was happy with.
“I absolutely fell in love with coyotas, and I wanted to perfect my own recipe … after many trials and tribulations, I think I've got it just right.
“It's flaky. It's crispy. It's like the perfect treat. Like, it's so reminiscent of everything you find in Sonora.”
Find more recipes from Pati's Sonoran travels here.
SBS Food is a 24/7 foodie channel for all Australians, with a focus on simple, authentic and everyday food inspiration from cultures everywhere. NSW stream only. Read more about SBS Food
Have a story or comment? Contact Us
